1973 24 Hours of Le Mans

41st 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race 1972 1973 1974 The 1973 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 41st Grand Prix of Endurance and took place on 9 and 10 June 1973. It was the eighth round of the 1973 World Championship of Makes. thumb|300px|Le Mans in 1973 The race promised to be close, with Ferrari, Matra and Porsche all having two wins in the championship along with a surprise victory for Mirage at Spa. It did indeed turn out to be one of the most tense Le Mans, with the race won in the pits as both Ferrari and Matra took turns in the lead only to be stymied by mechanical failures. All three Ferraris had time in the lead, but as mechanical issues overtook them it was the Matra of Henri Pescarolo and Gérard Larrousse, despite its own challenges, that took the chequered flag. In the end it was a comfortable six-lap margin over the second-placed Ferrari of Merzario and Pace with the Matra of Jabouille/Jaussaud third. There was a certain symmetry for a French car and a French team winning the fiftieth anniversary of the first 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ferrari did win the GT category after a close tussle with Porsche, and BMW had the only finisher in the Group 2 Touring Car category. Regulations In the second year of the new regulations, there were no changes. This year the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) extended the eligible classes to eight with an extra one each in Group 5 and 2.Spurring 2011, p.113 Reserves were not kept, rather the ACO selected the 55 starters from those who arrived taking into account the results of the Four-Hour race at the Test Weekend.Moity 1974, p.135 The 1973 race marked the 50th anniversary of the inaugural race of Le Mans, celebrated with considerable pomp. Separate races were held for pre-war and post-war cars and a parade of the first historic Le Mans competitors was organized. The French Post Office issued a special commemorative stamp for the occasion. Entries thumb|1973 Le Mans winning Matra-Simca 670B at Hampton Court in 2023 The ACO received 112 applications. Even though Autodelta, the Alfa Romeo works team withdrew just days before the event there were 61 cars present for practice on race-week. With Sports-prototypes from Matra, Ferrari, Mirage and Ligier as well as Ford and BMW in Group 2, there were 22 ‘works’ entries. Category Sports-PrototypeGroup 5 Special GTGroup 4 SpecialTouringGroup 2 TotalEntries Large-engines >2.5L classes2224652 Medium-engines < 2.5L classes9009 Total Cars3124661 After a distinct lack of success, Matra withdrew from Formula One to concentrate on contesting the World Championship of Makes against Ferrari. Its new longtail MS670B was made lighter, more aerodynamic and, importantly, equipped with Porsche "Type 1983" gearboxes. The V12 engine was tuned back to put out 450 bhp.Spurring 2011, p.116-7 and the car now ran on 13” tyres instead of the former 15”.Clarke 1997, p.144-5: Autosport Jun14 1973 Adding two cars to their regular Championship team made a strong 4-car challenge in an all-French driver line-up. Jean-Pierre Beltoise and François Cevert were constantly quickest but pushed their car hard, whereas Henri Pescarolo/Gérard Larrousse drove with endurance in mind, having got both of Matras victories to date. A third 670B was prepared for Jean-Pierre Jabouille/Jean-Pierre Jaussaud while Patrick Depailler/Bob Wollek had an older MS670. After the 1972 sportscar season, Ferrari was having a tougher time running in two World Championships, entering only one car in F1 and skipping some GP altogether. Having come from the latest round with a 1–2 victory at the Nürburgring, and with the championship balanced, the works team had improved reliability. The latest iteration of the 312PB was wider and longer to take bigger tyres and improve handling. The aerodynamic longtail chassis increased speed on Le Mans’ big straights while the improved V12 was now capable of 460 bhp in race-trim.Spurring 2011, p.118-9 The regular team driver pairings of Jacky Ickx/Brian Redman (who had both Ferrari victories this year) and Arturo Merzario/Carlos Pace were augmented by Carlos Reutemann/Tim Schenken. After 1971 John Wyer had retired from racing as the Porsche 917 sportscar class was discontinued. However, he resumed Mirage M3 plans for his own Cosworth-powered car-design and again convinced Gulf Oil to back the project. Former Ford engineer Len Bailey designed the Mirage M6 based around the Cosworth DFV engine, as he did in 1968 with the disappointing Ford P68. However, the DFV engine was renowned for vibration and being hard on components so a V12 engine, like in the Mirage M2 BRM, was commissioned from Weslake for a new coupé. But continual unreliability meant the Weslake project was shelved and the team focused on improving the V8 spyder refitted with ZF gearboxes,Automobile Year 1973, p.158 buoyed by a 1-2 result at Spa.Spurring 2011, p.120-1 Their drivers were Derek Bell/Howden Ganley and Mike Hailwood/John Watson (nursing a broken leg)/Vern Schuppan. Alfa Romeo was more affected than Ferrari by the Years of Lead strikes and social troubles in Italy. Autodelta, the Alfa works team, felt their new 500 bhp flat-12 powered car was still unprepared for 24 hours and did not enter. But they were represented by their customer team, Scuderia Brescia Corse, with a V8 T33/3.Spurring 2011, p.126 Lola did return to Le Mans after a promising, but tragic, race the previous year. The Scuderia Filipinetti had taken over Jo Bonnier’s team after his death. Despite the Swiss team’s owner Georges Filipinetti dying in May from a heart attack, a car was entered for Jean-Louis Lafosse and Hughes de Fierlandt.Spurring 2011, p.133Wimpffen 2007, p.116-7 An ex-Bonnier Lola was also run by former hill-climb champion Daniel Rouveyran. Alain de Cadenet also returned to Le Mans after a strong run the previous year in his Duckhams-Cosworth, paired again with Chris Craft. The body was redesigned to be more aerodynamic although no high-speed testing had been able to be done.Spurring 2011, p.131 Ligier finally had the improved Citroen-Maserati V6 engine, now capable of 330 bhp and three cars were entered for the race, including one for Guy Ligier himself, with Jacques Laffite.Spurring 2011, p.132 The 2-litre Group 5 class was well represented this year. The Chevron chassis was designed to accommodate a variety of engines and five were entered. Cosworth recommended an engine rebuild of their 2-litre FVC engine after only four hours of racing, so running 24 hours was problematic. They were up against a French ACE, a Lola and an old Porsche 910.Spurring 2011, p.128 Perhaps the most interesting entry was the first Japanese car to race at Le Mans, and with the first Japanese drivers. Shin Kato’s Sigma Automotive was entered to the race with the MC73, powered by a Mazda Wankel twin-rotary engine. With a claimed performance of 260 bhp it was calculated as a 2292cc equivalent. Three were built for the Japanese series and one came to Le Mans. Once again it was Ferrari versus Chevrolet in the GTS Group 4. The 365 GTB/4 “Daytona” now developed 440 bhp and nine were entered by the customer teams, many with works-prepared engines. Vic Elford was coaxed out of semi-retirement by the French Charles Pozzi team and there were four from the North American Racing Team (NART) including their young drivers’ Trofeo car (managed by Phil Hill).Spurring 2011, p.125 Four Corvettes were entered: the two French cars of Henri Greder and the Ecurie Léopard. John Greenwood arrived with two cars, one carrying a special alloy 7-litre engine boosted to put out 700 bhp.Spurring 2011, p.134 Porsche could have entered any of its old underpowered low drag Porsche 908 versions again, but these had to carry ballast now as minimum weight had been increased for 1972, thus only privateers raced 908s after 1971, with Joest finishing 3rd in 1972. Filling out the Group 5 field were four older Porsche 908s, including the regular entries from the Spanish Escuderia Montjuïch and Swiss André Wicky. Instead, in preparation of what should become the Porsche 935 for new rules in 1975 which were postponed to 1976, they updated the ten year old Porsche 911 design, which in 1972 was refined to the lightweight Carrera RS 2.7 "duck tail", and now had two RSR versions: homologated as GT, and somewhat unlimited, entered as 3-litre sportscar. Thus they came to Le Mans with bigger, burlier versions of the 911 to take on the big cars in Group 4 while developing a future car. Before homologation was granted the RSR versions scored three surprise wins, at 1973 24 Hours of Daytona, at Sebring beating the Group 5, and in what was to be the final World Championship Targa Florio.Spurring 2011, p.139 The Carrera RS was lightened, with a big rear spoiler and flared wheel-arches to take wider 11” tyres. The engine had been bored out to 2.7-litres, and now produced 240 bhp. The RSR-variant had a bigger 2.8-litre engine good for 300 bhp. As in 1971, Porsche factory entered as a Martini International sponsored team, now led by David Yorke (former team manager at Gulf-Wyer) and with two experimental versions capable of 320 bhp in the Sports category.Spurring 2011, p.122 Further lightened, they had 14” tyres and were driven by Gijs van Lennep/Herbert Müller and Reinhold Joest/Claude Haldi. Additionally, a squadron of eleven standard GT-class 911s arrived for practice from privateer teams.Spurring 2011, p.123 In Group 2, the European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) was again very popular with top drivers and close racing, and the mighty battle between the works teams of BMW and Ford spilled over into Le Mans. Ford Germany arrived with three 3-litre V6 Ford Capri for drivers Dieter Glemser/John Fitzpatrick, Gerry Birrell/Hans Heyer and Helmut Koinigg/Jean Vinatier.Spurring 2011, p.130 In response, BMW turned up with the 3.0 CSL run by its newly set up BMW Motorsport works team under Jochen Neerpasch (formerly at Ford). The car had a more powerful inline-6 M49 with 360 bhp over the Capri's 300 bhp. Their drivers were Chris Amon/Hans-Joachim Stuck and Toine Hezemans/Dieter Quester with a third for the Wicky Racing Team.Spurring 2011, p.129 Practice At the March test weekend, Beltoise put in a time for the Matra four seconds faster than Ferrari had 12 months earlier. Ferrari, citing labour strikes in Italy, did not attend. But Merzario and Ickx immediately set the pace on Wednesday night when official practice started. The only other sub-3:40 time was from the Cevert/Beltoise Matra; in fact these two works teams filled the top seven spots on the grid. Next were the two Gulf Mirages and the Gitanes Lola in tenth. None of the teams had been trying too hard to compete for a top time.Clarke 1997, p.147: Autosport Jun14 1973 The smaller teams had a far tougher time. Both the Duckhams and the Ligiers were suffering from unstable aerodynamics. The Duckhams was running over ten seconds slower than it had the previous year. In the small-engine class, the Spanish Chevron was 13th (4:11.0) just ahead of the Sigma rotary (4:11.1). The Porsche RSR prototypes were slower than their test weekend times, until van Lennep found performance improved with narrower rear tyres. Müller recorded a 4:14.9 to be 18th on the grid. Several incidents gave the mechanics all-nighter repair jobs: John Watson's Mirage spun in the Porsche curves and the rear section lifted and clouted him on the head; Lola had a tyre blowout rip up the rear bodywork and Ferrari got an urgent call from the factory saying the valve springs were set wrong needing 48 changes per engine. It was close in the Group 2 and 4 categories with only three seconds covering the best Ferraris, Porsches, Fords and BMWs. Quickest was Glemser in the Ford Capri (4:16.0 for 22nd) ahead of Elford's Ferrari. The Corvettes were off the pace with Greenwood's being the best with a 4:19.6. His special-engine car was disqualified by the officials after Don Yenko had had an accident doing illegal road-testing on public roads after a full differential change. His daughter, also in the car, was taken to the hospital for stitches. The Kremer-Porsche caught fire when oil leaked onto the hot exhaust, necessitating a full engine-change, and Walter Brun put the Wicky-BMW into the Armco at the chicane. Race Start Bright sunshine in race week became dark clouds on Saturday morning, however by 4pm it was sunny again.Clarke 1997, p.148-9: Autosport Jun14 1973 Honorary starter this year was Sylvain Floirat, President of Matra.Spurring 2011, p.115 From the first lap, Merzario was bolting ahead, sent out as the ‘hare’ to lead the Matras into a race – a role he relished. However, none of the other teams took the bait. A number of cars were coming in immediately with problems: Reinhold Joest's Martini Porsche with gearbox problems and the Grossman Ferrari with a puncture. Hailwood's Mirage had no clutch and Amon's BMW only had fifth gear. The Gitanes Lola, the Duckhams and the Sigma also all had early issues. By the pit stops around the end of the first hour, Merzario had built a significant lead but already needed to change brakepads. After the first driver changes, Carlos Pace only got six laps in the Ferrari until he had to stop, partly soaked in petrol from a split fuel tank, losing six laps.Clarke 1997, p.155-6: Road & Track Oct 1973 Matra was now 1-2-3 with Cevert leading from Larrousse and Wollek, chased by Reutemann in the Ferrari. While the Matras were all running at the same speed, the Ferraris had a variety of strategies. Carlos Reutemann and Tim Schenken were running among the Matras. Jacky Ickx and Brian Redman were running with the slowest 3-litre cars, the Lolas and the Alfa Romeo. After four hours, Jaussaud's front tyre blew out while going down the Mulsanne Straight. Ten laps were lost repairing the suspension. Less than an hour later, Beltoise had almost the same thing happen, and his Matra lost eight laps. As the Pescarolo/Larrousse car had been delayed fixing its brakes the lead fell to the Wollek/Depailler Matra. Then at 9.30pm, their car was in the pits with a terminal oil-pump problem and suddenly the Matra challenge was looking very shaky. At the same time, the GT-leading Sam Posey’s NART Ferrari lost five minutes in a poor pitstop, allowing the Charles Pozzi car of Elford/Ballot-Léna to take the category lead. These cars were all having a close running battle with the Martini Porsche, the Spanish 908, the Maublanc Chevron 2-litre and the fastest Capri. Night So by 10pm after six hours, it was now the Schenken/Reutemann Ferrari leading from Pescarolo/Larrousse. Third was Ickx/Redman, hitherto run conservatively, ahead of the Hailwood/Watson/Schuppan Mirage, Merzario's Ferrari and the Brescia Alfa Romeo. Wollek's Matra was 7th and the Müller/van Lennep Porsche 8th. Then when Pescarolo was delayed again, this time by a faulty gear selector, Ferrari was running 1–2. Both Merzario and Cevert were pushing their cars hard to make up lost time and just before midnight, Cevert put in the fastest lap of the race. Soon after midnight, Schuppan went wide at Tertre Rouge, hit the barrier and rolled his Mirage. The Merzario/Pace Ferrari was back in the pits, this time for 40 minutes replacing a slipping clutch. The Elford/Ballot-Léna spent 11 minutes changing brakepads, allowing the NART Ferrari through to the GT-lead again. In Group 2, all three Fords had been badly as night fell. The Birrell/Heyer car was out early, and its drivers transferred to the other team cars. The Glemser/Fitzpatrick car had got as high as tenth with the Hezemans/Quester BMW close by in 12th. Both cars were delayed before midnight and spent the rest of the night working back through the field. Then at 2.30am the leader was stopped out on the track by a broken conrod, and soon after Beltoise's Matra (now running 5th) again had a tyre blow out on it but this time it threw him into the guard-rails.Clarke 1997, p.150-1: Autosport Jun14 1973 So at half-time, Ickx was leading Pescarolo by two laps, while 8 laps further back Facetti in the surprising Alfa Romeo was ahead of Merzario and the Martini Porsche. After all the mechanical problems with the Group 5 cars, the NART Ferrari 365 was sixth leading the GTs, hounded by the Kremer and Sonauto Porsches and Elford's Ferrari. Ecuadorian Guillermo Ortega's privateer Porsche 908 rounded out the top-10.Spurring 2011, p.137 Morning Dawn came with mist and a light drizzle, but cleared to be another sunny day. But then after leading for seven hours, the lead Ferrari started sounding rough and just after 9am Redman brought it in with a split exhaust header.Automobile Year 1973, p.163 Coincidentally, a lap later Pescarolo also came in, with brake problems. It was the Matra that got back out into the lead just 15 seconds before the Ferrari. Mid-morning the third-placed Alfa Romeo's gearbox's broke. Seventy minutes were spent repairing it. In the GT race, the NART Ferrari was running sixth and still held a narrow lead over the Kremer Porsche, made easier when the Porsche lost time in the early morning with a jammed brake calliper and detached exhaust. The Gregg/Chasseuil Sonauto Porsche was in 8th overall at 6am when a puncture on the Mulsanne Straight damaged the suspension dropping down the order. They were not alone, as most of the GT field had serious problems in the morning. In Group 2, it was resolved when the remaining Ford of Glemser/Fitzpatrick/Heyer got a broken conrod at 10.40am, leaving the BMW as the last Group 2 car running. Then at 11am Minter bought the GT-leading Ferrari from 7th, smoking badly from a cracked piston. At the same time Ickx brought the pursuing Ferrari in with a split fuel cell like its sister-car had had earlier, costing 25 minutes and six laps to repair. But an hour later the Matra's starter motor failed in a regular pit-stop costing 20 minutes, and it was even once again. Finish and post-race Finally, with barely 90 minutes to go, the Ickx/Redman Ferrari was out – another conrod had broken and the car was wheeled away to a standing ovation from the crowd in the grandstand opposite. After that Pescarolo and Larrousse were able to ease off and cruise to the finish. In the end they finished six laps ahead of the Merzario/Pace Ferrari. Eighteen laps further back (and still not overtaken Ickx's retired Ferrari on distance) was the recovering Matra of Jabouille/Jaussaud. In a very close finish, the French Ferrari of Elford/Ballot-Léna was sixth, barely a lap ahead of the hard-charging Kremer Porsche, with Ortega's privateer Porsche 908 between them. Ninth was the other Pozzi Ferrari of Serpaggi/Dolhem with Georg Loos’ Porsche RSR in tenth. The Brescia Corse Alfa Romeo had had a troubled end to the race with gearbox, clutch then fuel-pump issues after a solid first half but eventually got home in 15th. After the win at Le Mans, Matra stormed home in the Championship winning the next two rounds. The final round in Argentina was cancelled due to lack of support, giving Matra the championship with five victories (all to Pescarolo/Larrousse) to Ferrari's two. In the European GT season it was Claude Ballot-Léna and Clemens Schickentanz, both driving Porsche RSRs who shared the championship on equal points.Automobile Year 1973, p.203 Toine Hezemans won the European Touring Car Championship for BMW.Automobile Year 1973, p.206 Later in the summer, “Pesca” and Larrousse came back to Le Mans to be presented with the Legion d’Honneur, France's highest order of merit. Still to date, 1973 was the final time that the Alfa Romeo works team raced at Le Mans. Scuderia Ferrari's factory team would be absent from prototype racing at Le Mans for 50 years until their return and win in 2023. Official results Finishers Results taken from Quentin Spurring's book, officially licensed by the ACOSpurring 2011, p.2 Class Winners are in Bold text. Pos Position Class No. Car number Team Drivers Chassis Engine Tyre Laps Laps completed 1 S3.0 11 FRA Equipe Matra-Simca Shell FRA Henri PescaroloFRA Gérard Larrousse Matra-Simca MS670B Matra 3.0L V12 Goodyear 355 2 S3.0 16 ITA SpA Ferrari SEFAC ITA Arturo MerzarioBRA Carlos Pace Ferrari 312PB-73 Ferrari 3.0L F12 Goodyear 349 3 S3.0 12 FRA Equipe Matra-Simca Shell FRA Jean-Pierre JabouilleFRA Jean-Pierre Jaussaud Matra-Simca MS670B Matra 3.0L V12 Goodyear 331 4 S3.0 46 DEU Martini Racing Team CHE Herbert MüllerNLD Gijs van Lennep Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Porsche 2.8L F6 Dunlop 328 5 S3.0 3 ESP 1945 Escuderia MontjuïchCHE Haberthur Racing ESP 1945 Juan Fernandez ESP 1945 Francisco TorredemerCHE Bernard Chenevière Porsche 908/03 Porsche 3.0L F8 Goodyear 319 6 GTS5.0 39 FRA Automobiles Charles Pozzi GBR Vic ElfordFRA Claude Ballot-Léna Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Ferrari 4.4L V12 Michelin 316 7 S3.0 4 ECU G. Ortega(private entrant) ECU Guillermo OrtegaECU Fausto Morello Porsche 908/02K Porsche 3.0L F8 Goodyear 316 8 GTS3.0 45 DEU Kremer Racing Team DEU Erwin KremerCHE Paul KellerDEU Clemens Schickentanz Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Porsche 2.8L F6 Dunlop 316 9 GTS5.0 40 FRA Automobiles Charles Pozzi FRA Alain SerpaggiFRA José Dolhem Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Ferrari 4.4L V12 Michelin 315 10 GTS3.0 63 DEU Gelo Racing Team DEU Georg LoosDEU Jürgen Barth Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Porsche 2.8L F6 Dunlop 311 11 TS5.0 51 DEU BMW Motorsport NLD Toine HezemansAUT Dieter Quester BMW 3.0 CSL BMW 3.3L S6 Dunlop 307 12 GTS+5.0 30 FRA Greder Racing Team FRA Henri GrederFRA Marie-Claude Beaumont Chevrolet Corvette C3 Chevrolet 7.0L V8 Michelin 303 13 GTS5.0 38 USA North American Racing Team FRA François Migault USA Luigi Chinetti Jr Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Ferrari 4.4L V12 Goodyear 299 14 GTS3.0 48 FRA Sonauto BP Racing USA Peter GreggFRA Guy Chasseuil Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Porsche 2.8L F6 Goodyear 298 15 S3.0 60(reserve) ITA Scuderia Brescia Corse ITA Carlo FacettiITA “Pam” (Marsillio Pasotti) ITA Teodoro Zeccoli Alfa Romeo Tipo 33TT3 Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8 Goodyear 298 16 GTS3.0 41 CHE Schiller Racing Team(private entrant) CHE Jean SelzCHE Florian Vetsch Porsche 911 Carrera RS Porsche 2.7L F6 Firestone 298 17 GTS3.0 42 FRA R. Mazzia(private entrant) FRA Pierre MauroyFRA Marcel Mignot Porsche 911 Carrera RS Porsche 2.8L F6 Dunlop 290 18 GTS+5.0 69(reserve) FRA Écurie Léopard FRA Jean-Claude AubrietFRA "Dépnic" (Jean-Claude Depince) Chevrolet Corvette C3 Chevrolet 7.0L V8 Michelin 282 19 S3.0 18 FRA C. Laurent(private entrant) FRA Claude LaurentFRA Martial DelalandeFRA Jacques Marché Ligier JS2 Maserati 3.0L V6 Michelin 270 20 GTS5.0 34 BEL Ecurie Francorchamps FRA Jean-Claude AndruetGBR Richard Bond Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Ferrari 4.4L V12 Goodyear 270 21 S3.0 52 CHE Wicky Racing Team CHE André WickyMAR Max Cohen-OlivarCHE Philippe Carron Porsche 908/02K Porsche 3.0L F8 Firestone 270 Did Not Finish Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis Engine Tyre Laps Reason DNF S3.0 15 ITA SpA Ferrari SEFAC BEL Jacky IckxGBR Brian Redman Ferrari 312PB-73 Ferrari 3.0L F12 Goodyear 332 Engine (24hr) DNF GTS5.0 6 USA North American Racing Team USA Sam PoseyUSA Milt Minter Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Ferrari 4.4L V12 Goodyear 254 Engine (21hr) DNF TS3.0 55 DEU Ford Motorenwerke Deutschland DEU Dieter Glemser GBR John Fitzpatrick DEU Hans Heyer Ford Capri LV Ford 3.0L V6 Dunlop 239 Engine (20hr) DNF S2.0 25 CHE M. Dupont(private entrant) CHE Michel DupontCHE Paul Blancpain Chevron B23 Cosworth FVC 1980cc S4 Firestone 229 Gearbox (22hr) DNF GTS5.0 33 GBR J.C. Bamford Excavators(private entrant) GBR Neil CornerGBR Willie Green Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Ferrari 4.4L V12 Michelin 214 Gearbox (18hr) DNF GTS5.0 37 USA North American Racing Team ARG Rubén Luis di PalmaARG Nestor García-Veiga Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Ferrari 4.4L V12 Goodyear 211 Transmission (18hr) DNF GTS5.0 36 USA North American Racing Team USA Bob GrossmanFRA Lucien Guitteny Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Ferrari 4.4L V12 Goodyear 192 Accident (19hr) DNF S3.0 19 FRA Automobiles Ligier FRA Alain CoudercFRA Jean-Pierre Paoli Ligier JS2 Maserati 3.0L V6 Michelin 174 Oil leak (17hr) DNF GTS5.0 56(reserve) FRA Shark Racing Team(private entrant) FRA Jean-Claude GuérieFRA Cyril Grandet Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Ferrari 4.4L V12 Dunlop 174 Gearbox (17hr) DNF S3.0 7 FRA Équipe Gitanes Cigarettes de France FRA Jean-Louis LafosseSWE Reine Wisell BEL Baron Hughes de Fierlandt Lola T282 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8 Goodyear 164 Transmission (20hr) DNF S3.0 8 GBR Gulf Research Racing GBR Derek BellNZL Howden Ganley Mirage M6 Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8 Firestone 163 Oil pump (18hr) DNF TS5.0 50 DEU BMW Motorsport NZL Chris AmonDEU Hans-Joachim Stuck BMW 3.0 CSL BMW 3.3L S6 Dunlop 162 Accident (16hr) DNF S3.0 17 ITA SpA Ferrari SEFAC AUS Tim SchenkenARG Carlos Reutemann Ferrari 312PB-73 Ferrari 3.0L F12 Goodyear 162 Engine (12hr) DNF S3.0 10 FRA Equipe Matra-Simca Shell FRA François CevertFRA Jean-Pierre Beltoise Matra-Simca MS670B Matra 3.0L V12 Goodyear 157 Accident (12hr) DNF TS3.0 53 DEU Ford Motorenwerke Deutschland FRA Jean VinatierAUT Helmut Koinigg GBR Gerry Birrell Ford Capri LV Ford 3.0L V6 Dunlop 152 Engine (15hr) DNF S2.0 22 FRA R. Touroul(private entrant) FRA Raymond TouroulFRA Jean-Pierre Rouget Porsche 910 Porsche 1985cc F6 Dunlop 142 Fuel system (13hr) DNF GTS3.0 49 FRA J. Egreteaud(private entrant) FRA Jean EgreteaudFRA Jean-Claude Lagniez Porsche 911 Carrera RS Porsche 2.8L F6 Dunlop 140 Axle (14hr) DNF S3.0 9 GBR Gulf Research Racing GBR Mike HailwoodGBR John Watson AUS Vern Schuppan Mirage M6 Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8 Firestone 122 Accident (10hr) DNF GTS3.0 44 CHE Porsche Club Romand FRA Jean-François PiotCHE Peter Zbinden Porsche 911 Carrera RS Porsche 2.8L F6 Dunlop 110 Gearbox (10hr) DNF GTS3.0 43 DEU Max Moritz Racing Team DEU Gerd QvistDEU Manfred LaubDEU Jürgen Zink Porsche 911 Carrera RS Porsche 2.8L F6 Goodyear 103 Accident (10hr) DNF GTS3.0 78(reserve) FRA J. Sage(private entrant) FRA Hervé BayardFRA René Ligonnet Porsche 911 Carrera RS Porsche 2.8L F6 Firestone 95 Engine (10hr) DNF S2.0 21 FRA P. Maublanc(private entrant) FRA Pierre MaublancFRA Robert Mieusset Chevron B21/B23 BMW-Schnitzer M12 1991cc S4 Firestone 90 Engine (9hr) DNF S3.0 14 FRA Equipe Matra-Simca Shell FRA Patrick DepaillerFRA Bob Wollek Matra-Simca MS670B Matra 3.0L V12 Goodyear 84 Oil pump (8hr) DNF S3.0 5 GBR Duckhams Oil Motor Racing GBR Alain de CadenetGBR Chris Craft Duckhams LM72 Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8 Dunlop 81 Transmission (13hr) DNF S2.5 26 JPN Sigma Automotive JPN Tetsu Ikuzawa JPN Hiroshi Fushida FRA Patrick Dal Bo Sigma MC73 Mazda 12A 2-Rotor (2.3L equiv.) Bridgestone 79 Transmission (12hr) DNF S3.0 47 DEU Martini Racing Team DEU Reinhold JoestCHE Claude Haldi Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Porsche 2.8L F6 Dunlop 65 Out of fuel (7hr) DNF S2.0 28 FRA J. Henry(private entrant) FRA Jacques HenryFRA Fred Stalder FRA Bernard-Etienne Grobot Lola T290 Cosworth FVC 1850cc S4 Goodyear 64 Engine (8hr) DNF S2.0 27 ESP 1945 Escuderia Montjuïch ESP 1945 José JuncadellaESP 1945 Jorge de Bagration Chevron B23 Cosworth FVC 1930cc S4 Firestone 52 Gearbox (6hr) DNF S3.0 61(reserve) FRA D. Rouveyran(private entrant) FRA Daniel RouveyranFRA Christian MonsFRA Christian Ethuin Lola T280/282 Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8 Goodyear 38 Gearbox (5hr) DNF GTS+5.0 29 USA John Greenwood Racing USA John GreenwoodUSA Bob Johnson Chevrolet Corvette C3 Chevrolet 7.1L V8 BF Goodrich 37 Engine (4hr) DSQ S3.0 62(reserve) FRA Automobiles Ligier FRA Guy LigierFRA Jacques Laffite Ligier JS2 Maserati 3.0L V6 Michelin 24 Premature oilrefill (4hr) DNF S2.0 2 CHE Dinitrol Total Blancpain(private entrant) FRA Roger DubosBEL Christine Beckers FRA Pierre Pagani Chevron B21/23 Cosworth FVC 1796cc S4 Michelin 9 Fuel injection (3hr) DNF TS3.0 54 DEU Ford Motorenwerke Deutschland GBR Gerry BirrellDEU Hans Heyer Ford Capri RS Ford 3.0L V6 Dunlop 4 Electrics (3hr) DNF TS5.0 58(reserve) CHE Wicky Racing Team CHE Walter BrunCHE Cox Kocher CHE Jean-Pierre Aeschlimann BMW 3.0 CSL BMW 3.3L S6 Firestone 1 Engine (2hr) Did Not Start Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis Engine Tyre Reason DNS S3.0 57(reserve) FRA C. Poirot(private entrant) FRA Christian PoirotFRA Jean RondeauDEU Jürgen Barth Porsche 908/02K Porsche 3.0L F8 Dunlop Did not qualify DNQ S2.0 65(reserve) FRA M. Elkoubi(private entrant) FRA Yves MartinITA Ugo LocatelliITA Massimo Martino ACE PB-2 Cosworth BDA 1898cc S4 Goodyear Did not qualify DNQ S2.0 66 GBR Promoto Racing Services (private entrant) GBR Brian RobinsonESP José UriarteFRA Hervé Leguellec Chevron B19/21 Cosworth FVC 1850cc S4 Firestone Did not qualify DNS GTS+5.0 68(reserve) USA John Greenwood Racing USA Don YenkoUSA Ron GrableUSA Jim Greendyke Chevrolet Corvette C3 Chevrolet 7.0L V8 BF Goodrich Disqualified DNQ GTS3.0 75(reserve) CHE Porsche Club Romand CHE Pierre GreubDEU Paul Keller FRA Philippe Farjon Porsche 911 Carrera RS Porsche 2.8cc F6 Dunlop Did not qualify DNQ GTS3.0 84(reserve) FRA L. Meznarie(private entrant) FRA Jean-Claude BoucherFRA Jacques GuérinFRA Didier Jaunet Porsche 911 Carrera RS Porsche 2.8cc F6 Dunlop Reserve Class Winners ClassSportsWinners ClassSpecial GTWinners ClassSpecial TouringWinners Sports 3000 #11 Matra-Simca MS670B Pescarolo / Larrousse * GTS >5000 #30 Chevrolet Corvette C3 Greder / Beaumont * TS Sports 2500 no finishers GTS 5000 #39 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Elford / Ballot-Léna * TS 5000 #51 BMW 3.0 CSL Hezemans / Quester Sports 2000 no finishers GTS 3000 #45 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Kremer / Keller / Schickentanz TS 3000 no finishers Note: setting a new class distance record. Index of Thermal Efficiency For Group 2 and Group 4 cars.Clausager 1982, p.164-5Moity 1974, p.190 Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis Score 1 GTS3.0 45 DEU Kremer Racing Team DEU Erwin KremerCHE Paul KellerDEU Clemens Schickentanz Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 1.049 2 GTS5.0 40 FRA Automobiles Charles Pozzi FRA Alain SerpaggiFRA José Dolhem Ferrari 365 GTB/4 1.043 3= TS5.0 51 DEU BMW Motorsport NLD Toine HezemansAUT Dieter Quester BMW 3.0 CSL 0.98 3= GTS5.0 39 FRA Automobiles Charles Pozzi GBR Vic ElfordFRA Claude Ballot-Léna Ferrari 365 GTB/4 0.98 3= GTS3.0 63 DEU Gelo Racing Team DEU Georg LoosDEU Jürgen Barth Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 0.98 6 GTS3.0 41 CHE Schiller Racing Team(private entrant) CHE Jean SelzCHE Florian Vetsch Porsche 911 Carrera RS 0.89 7 GTS3.0 48 FRA Sonauto BP Racing USA Peter GreggFRA Guy Chasseuil Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 0.88 8 GTS+5.0 30 FRA Greder Racing Team FRA Henri GrederFRA Marie-Claude Beaumont Chevrolet Corvette C3 0.80 9 GTS3.0 42 FRA R. Mazzia(private entrant) FRA Pierre MauroyFRA Marcel Mignot Porsche 911 Carrera RS 0.77 10 GTS+5.0 69(reserve) FRA Écurie Léopard FRA Jean-Claude AubrietFRA “Depnic” (Jean-Claude Depince) Chevrolet Corvette C3 0.73 Note: Only the top ten positions are included in this set of standings. Statistics Taken from Quentin Spurring's book, officially licensed by the ACO Fastest Lap in practice –A.Merzario, #16 Ferrari 312 PB-73 – 3:37.5secs; 225.77 km/h on Fastest Lap – F. Cevert, #10 Matra-Simca MS670B – 3:39.6secs; 223.61 km/h on Winning Distance – 4853.94 km on Winner's Average Speed – 202.25 km/h on Attendance – ? International Championship for Makes Standings As calculated after Le Mans, Round 8 of 10 http://www.wsrp.cz/tablewscmakes.html#1973- International Championship for Makes World Sports Racing Prototypes.com 2018-06-25 Pos Manufacturer Points 1 ITA Ferrari 85 (110)* 2 FRA Matra 84 3 West Germany Porsche 68 (82)* 4 GBR Lola 36 5 GBR Chevron 29 6 GBR Mirage 28 7 ITA Lancia 15 8 USA Chevrolet 12 9 ITA Alfa Romeo 9 Note: Only the best 7 of 10 results counted to the final Championship points. The full total earned to date is given in brackets Citations 30em References Armstrong, Douglas – English editor (1974) Automobile Year #21 1973-74 Lausanne: Edita S.A. Clarke, R.M. - editor (1997) Le Mans 'The Ford and Matra Years 1966-1974' Cobham, Surrey: Brooklands Books 1-85520-373-1 Clausager, Anders (1982) Le Mans London: Arthur Barker Ltd 0-213-16846-4 Laban, Brian (2001) Le Mans 24 Hours London: Virgin Books 1-85227-971-0 Moity, Christian (1974) The Le Mans 24 Hour Race 1949-1973 Radnor, Pennsylvania: Chilton Book Co 0-8019-6290-0 Spurring, Quentin (2011) Le Mans 1970-79 Yeovil, Somerset: Haynes Publishing 978-1-84425-539-9 Wimpffen, János (2007) Spyders and Silhouettes Hong Kong: David Bull Publishing 1-893618-83-8 fr 24 heures du Mans 1973 in Automobile Historique n°49, June/July 2005 External links Racing Sports Cars – Le Mans 24 Hours 1973 entries, results, technical detail. Retrieved 25 Jun 2018 Le Mans History – Le Mans History, hour-by-hour (incl. pictures, quotes, YouTube links). Retrieved 25 Jun 2018 World Sports Racing Prototypes – results, reserve entries & chassis numbers. Retrieved 25 Jun 2018 Team Dan – results & reserve entries, explaining driver listings. Retrieved 25 Jun 2018 Unique Cars & Parts – results & reserve entries. Retrieved 25 Jun 2018 Formula 2 – Le Mans results & reserve entries. Retrieved 25 Jun 2018 Motorsport Memorial – details of the year's fatal accidents. Retrieved 25 Jun 2018 YouTube – Race highlights with French commentary (50min). Retrieved 25 May 2025 YouTube – Colour amateur footage (no sound), in three parts (Pt 1 - 8mins). Retrieved 6 Jul 2018 YouTube – Colour amateur footage (no sound), in three parts (Pt 2 - 6mins). Retrieved 6 Jul 2018 YouTube – Colour amateur footage (no sound), in three parts (Pt 3 - 7mins). Retrieved 6 Jul 2018 YouTube – Colour amateur footage (no sound), of the vintage parade races (8mins). Retrieved 6 Jul 2018 YouTube – B/w French news report of race (1min). Retrieved 6 Jul 2018 Category:24 Hours of Le Mans races Le Mans Category:1973 in French motorsport